Sunday, September 29, 2013

Texas might have "Vietnamese" in the bag but Vancouver can claim dibs on "best of" in just about every other category of Asian cuisine, including one I hadn't tried until my recent visit this week: Taiwanese.

Who would have thought I'd end up in two "Hung" restaurants in two completely different countries on the same brief trip?

Vegans beware.

The menu on Chef Hung's Taiwanese Beef Noodle includes such rarities as Taiwanese-style kimchi, pickled peanuts in vinegar soy sauce with Chinese chives and several variety of hearty noodle soup. I tried the "award-winning special" chocked full of translucent cubes of bone marrow, beef brisket and tripe, which my curious five year old table-mate greedily devoured to impress me. Granted, Chef Hung's is a small chain, but you don't have to go far in Vancouver to find quality. I can't even describe the intensity of mouth-watering food-orgasms I managed to muster in just two brief days surfing a handful of hole-in-the-wall Chinese noodle shops and sushi bars across the city.

I won't lie. I like them hung, especially Thiem Hung # 2, my favorite Vietnamese sandwich shop in Houston. I returned home for a visit last week to discover the same restaurant in the same location, this time under a different name, Cafe TH, but still serving the same great sandwich at the same incredible price, $3.50 for a large-- more than enough for a full meal. Best Bánh Mì EVER!

Alas, if only the summers (and fall and spring) weren't so hot and sticky. . .

Looks like I'm not the only one with a crush on "Stud with Stache" Jared.

BSD reader Chris is back at it again. This time around I can't claim the honor of yet another flattering portrait. May I present to you Chris's latest masterpiece, a "picture of another mister": Jared Scott from yesterday's post.

I think it may be time to make Chris an official Big Shoe Illustrator-at-large?

What could be more beautiful (and seemingly anachronistic) than an image of two Zulu warriors cuddling? Believe it or not the great Zulu chief Shaka (Shaka kaSenzangakhona) encouraged his warriors to abstain from sex with woman and instead encouraged them to have sex with each other (especially intercrural sex) in an effort to foster loyalty among his troops on the battlefield.

The following images belong to South African photographer Pieter Hugo's series "Kin", on view at the Yossi Milo Gallery in NYC until October 19th. In addition to "Thoba Clavin and Tshepo Cameron Sithole - Modisane, Pretoria, 2013" pictured above, here are a few of my favorites: